Taunton police respond to four heroin overdoses Thursday

TAUNTON — Police were called to assist four people Thursday who reportedly overdosed on heroin.

The latest incidents bring the number of heroin-related overdoses in Taunton since the beginning of the year to 105.

The first call came in at 2:30 p.m., when a resident of 9 Taunton Green reported a homeless woman had just overdosed in unit 3 of the apartment building.

Police said the 22-year-old victim was “very uncooperative” and refused to answer any questions after she was revived by paramedics.

Police said a search of the immediate area failed to turn up any drugs or drug-related evidence. There is no mention in the police report of the use of Narcan to revive the woman.

Police have reported numerous calls during the past few months of drug-related and other complaints at the Taunton Green apartment building.

The second report of an overdose on Thursday was at 5:30 p.m., when police responded to Weir Laundromat at 85 West Water St.

Police said when they arrived, fire personnel were checking on two men lying on the floor — one of whom, 39, was in the bathroom and the other, 38, just outside the door.

An employee told police one of the men had argued with a woman about whether to call 911 when first one, then both, of the men passed out on the floor. The woman allegedly said, “I’m not dealing with this,” and left through a back door.

Police said one of the men admitted that he and his friend snorted heroin. Both victims were transported to Morton Hospital for evaluation. Police said they did not recover any drug evidence from the scene.

The fourth call of a heroin overdose on Thursday was at 6 p.m., when police were called to the parking lot of Taunton Sports Club, 33 Baker Road West.

Police said when they arrived, a 32-year-old city man lying next to a parked vehicle was being treated by fire department personnel.

The Weir Avenue resident, after being revived, allegedly told a paramedic that he had snorted, not injected, the heroin — notwithstanding that he had “several (injection) track marks” on his arms, police said.

Police were informed that a friend of the victim drove off in a black vehicle just as they arrived on scene.

Taunton first responders — including police, fire and ambulance personnel — have struggled to keep up with a steady stream of heroin overdoses.

Police attribute the overdose trend to a combination of cheap prices and the fact that dealers often use the painkiller fentanyl to cut their product. They also say some of the overdoses involve the same people.

Seven people in Taunton have died from heroin overdoses in 2014, according to police.